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Solar street light with motion sensor
Redesign of a solar powered street light with proximity sensors, auto switch off function, an inbuild battery storage and heat dissipation fins.
The need
Most of the parts of rural India is not electrified and this leaves the streets of such places covered in darkness during the night time. A project had come in that required solar street lights to be mounted in such locations.
Design Constrains
The lights were designed to be plug and play. To achieve this the all the components on the light had to be assembled right from the factory. This meant housing the battery, charge controllers, bulb arrays, sensors and other electrical equipment in one single unit.
Design Constrains
The body had to be very sturdy to handle the harsh climatic conditions and be waterproof to protect the components. It also had to be easily serviceable and installed in the field.
Modelling
Design started off with understanding the components that go into the light and modelling the outer structure around it.
Design
The battery was placed at the top to achieve balance in weight and the sensors and the electrical components to the bottom to protect it from rainfall and direct sunlight.
Component Placement
The placement of components were very crucial in figuring out the design. The sensor for the proximity detector was placed to the bottom of the light facing ground which can be seen in white color here.
Fins for heat dissipation
Fins were provided at the top of the light assembly to dissipate heat that was produced. Enough space was provided at the top to include a range of batteries in case the components every needed an upgrade in the future.
Linking the components
Passage ways were provided between the panels of the body to let wires pass through. Every component had their connection to the central circuit board.
CNC machined prototype
The design was tested out once with a CNC machined part to understand the form factor. The material used was an alloy of aluminum. After the initial design, changes were made to improve on the design.
CNC machined prototype
The prototype also gave us an idea of how heavy the design would be which would have been difficult with a 3d printed model on PLA. Components were placed in the design and tested out for a duration of 1 week.
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